Lagos , Nigeria -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Reports of at least 150 Muslims killed in recent religious clashes in Nigeria should be investigated , a human rights group urged Saturday .

Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that armed men attacked Kuru Karama in central Nigeria on Tuesday , `` killing many as they tried to flee and burning many others alive , '' the international organization said Saturday .

The assailants targeted Muslims , reportedly killing at least 150 , Human Rights Watch said .

Community leaders from Jos , a city about 19 miles north of Kuru Karama , and journalists told the organization that later in the week they saw dozens of bodies lodged in wells or sewage pits . The bodies of 121 people , including 22 children , had been recovered , the organization said . Most of the homes in the town were burned down , along with three mosques , the group said .

Those interviewed by the group said they thought the attackers were Christian , Human Rights Watch said . But even Christians were not spared . When a Christian pastor tried to stop the attacks he was beaten , a Muslim imam told the group .

Human Rights Watch called on Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to open a criminal investigation into the deaths based on the reports the groups said were credible .

Officials are still tallying death figures in the latest round of violence , said H.A. Angulu , director of public communications for the Ministry of Information and Communications .

`` Yes -LSB- the clashes -RSB- occurred , but I can not confirm any numbers , '' he told CNN . `` At this time the government is still compiling figures of those people affected and of those displaced in Jos. They are accounting for the deceased and missing . At this time I can not confirm the number of dead . ''

Earlier this week , dozens were reportedly killed in clashes in Jos. Angulu did not specifically address the reports about Kuru Karama .

On Thursday , Jonathan declared in a televised address that the attackers in the state of Plateau would be held accountable , according to Human Rights Watch .

Police were called to end the attacks , but they did not , the group reported witnesses as saying .

Hundreds have died in clashes between Christians and Muslims in central Plateau state in the past decade .

The most populous country in Africa , with a population of more than 150 million , Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians .

With more than 78 million Muslims , it has the sixth largest Islamic population in the world , according to a study last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life .

A curfew was imposed Tuesday -- the same day as the reported attack in Kuru Karama -- in Jos after violence flared up there following unrest on Sunday . A local activist said 69 people had been killed and about 600 injured in the most recent outbreak . Thousands more were displaced , seeking shelter in military and police headquarters , said Sani Shehu of the Civil Rights Congress in Jos.

There was no independent confirmation of Shehu 's figures .

It is unclear what sparked the latest violence .

In November 2008 , at least 700 Nigerians died in Christian-Muslim riots that followed a disputed local election , Human Rights Watch reported .

CNN 's Andreena Narayan contributed to this report .

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At least 150 Muslims reported killed in Christian rampages

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121 bodies found stuffed in wells and pits , Human Rights Watch says

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Group calls on vice president to open investigation of reports

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Hundreds have been killed in decade of sectarian violence